


I'm Me and You're You.  Or Not.

by ScribeOnTheSide



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Cat Ears, Fluff, Freaky Friday - Freeform, Light Angst, M/M, body switch, cat boy, how did this get so long, ikeran, ikexran, too much research on cat's vision
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 01:16:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10451739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScribeOnTheSide/pseuds/ScribeOnTheSide
Summary: Ike and Ranulf wake up in each other's body.  Now what?  (no, not what you'd think)Both men have to deal with specific differences and what life is like for the other.Could have been 3 times longer if I kept going on with all the things I was thinking of but isn't that always the problem?





	1. What the Hell?

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by both a friend's request and a Tumblr fic. You can blame them for its existence. My obsession with this cat boy and his human partner... that's allllllll me.

It was the noise that crept into Ike’s consciousness first, pulling him out of his restless slumber. Small skittering sounds from the tree hollows. The fluttery rustling inside the high nests. The stirring and whirring of night wings in the sky above, racing the oncoming dawn. 

Ike rolled over, pulling the covers over his head, sending dark thoughts towards the creatures that were being extra noisy this morning. He wasn’t ready to get up yet. Everything felt off, like his limbs didn’t quite go together. But this noise… why were they so loud?

Sighing, he reached over towards his companion. His hand felt nothing but empty space and the edge of their sleeping mat. Ike was puzzled. Was he on the wrong side? Where was Ranulf? Frowning, he opened his eyes.

“What the hell?!?” 

Ike bolted upright, covering his eyes. After a moment, he took a deep breath and lowered his hands. The tent looked as bright as day, every object crystal clear, even though the sun wasn’t due for another few hours. The only thing differentiating it from mid-morning was the lack of color. The world was bright but only in greys and blues. 

Before he could ponder it too much, the soft squeak of a bat just outside the tent flap caught his attention. As he turned his head towards the sound, he felt a tickling sensation on his head, like something moving through his hair. Ike reached up to brush whatever it was off, only to encounter two fur-covered fleshy objects attached to his head. He could feel the touch of his fingers on them. He jumped as they suddenly flicked under his fingertips. 

Turning to the figure curled up under a thick blanket on the wrong side of him, he fought the impulse to shake him awake, instead gently prodding, hoping this was his partner. 

“Ranulf… hey Ranulf… ummm… something odd is happening.”

Ike froze when he saw his hand. There were no hard calluses from the hours and hours of sword practice. The nails on this hand were uneven, with a few broken off short, as if they had been clawing through something hard. The skin on the wrist was marked, as if a tight wrap had been removed in the past few hours. This...wasn’t his hand. 

The sleeping man’s head emerged as the body under the blanket began to uncurl and stretch. A face that was both so familiar and yet so strange turned Ike’s direction. His own face.

“What’s up, Ike? It can’t be time yet.” said Ranulf, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He looked up at the man sitting next to him. Instantly, he leapt backwards, landing in a graceful crouched position and growled threateningly. At least that’s what he tried to do. However, his body didn’t react the way he expected. In reality, Ranulf tumbled backward off the mat before scrambling to his feet to face the stranger in his bed who was reaching out to him. His growl turned into a strangled, choking noise that made him cough. 

The figure next to him didn’t follow him but stayed still, not presenting an immediate threat. With a deep breath, Ranulf tried to calm down and focus. Who was this?

He could tell there was a cat laguz in front of him but struggled to see any detail. Why couldn’t he see very well? And why was he so high up? He felt a touch of vertigo and struggled to keep his balance. He must have had a whole lot more to drink last night than he thought. 

Focus on one thing at a time, he thought. First, this laguz...

“Where is Ike? If you’ve hurt him….”

“Rani! Please! It’s just me... Ike. At least I think it’s me. Can you just come sit back down?” 

Ranulf paused. The voice was familiar but he couldn’t place it. Nobody called him Rani though except Ike. He slowly settled himself back down, peering through the darkness.

Light crept up the walls of the tent as Ike leaned over to light a small lantern. The two men stared at one another, each seeing their own face and form in front of them. Ranulf reached up and touched his hair. It took him a second to figure out his ears were no longer on top of his head but on the side. No wonder he couldn’t hear anything either. Being a beorc was like wearing a blindfold and earmuffs!

Ike ran his fingers through his hair. Ranulf recognized it as Ike’s typical gesture of frustration. Ike’s ears flicked and swivelled with all the new input, catching Ranulf’s attention. He reached out, running his fingers along the edges of Ike’s new teal cat ears. Why hadn’t he noticed how fascinatingly they moved when he had them?

Ike felt a rumbling start in his chest, way down deep, and rubbed his head slightly against the fingers before getting a funny look on his face. 

“Ummm… could you stop that? It’s making my...your…*this* body feel strange.”

Ranulf chuckled.   
“You’re purring! Can’t lie. I may have dreamed about that once or twice.”

Ike waved the comment and Ran’s hand away.   
“Be serious. What’s going on here? Why are you me and me you?”

Ranulf thought back over the last day.   
“Wasn’t there a mage in the last battle that was using some spell to move their people around? Didn’t we step into one of those backfiring somewhere in there?”

Ike thought about it. He did remember magic being hurled around but he was much more focused on the lances and swords trying to kill him. There was that one instance though where he did remember getting hit with a blast of something. And now that he thought about it, Ranulf was right there next to him when it happened. 

“Maybe. Either way, we should go consult with Ilyana to see if this is possible and how long it will last.” 

Ike stood gingerly, trying to get the feel for his new limbs. He felt ridiculously light and flexible. The tail attached to the body he was using brushed against his wrist, trying to wrap around it. He ran it through his fingers, feeling the sensation run up his spine. It tickled.

A grin broke across his face before he winced in pain, touching his lip.  
“Ow! How do you not constantly bite yourself with these fangs?”

Ranulf stood up, laughed, and wiped the small drop of blood off his partner’s lower lip.   
“I don’t know. You just don’t. How do you handle all this height with awful balance? I feel like I’m going to tumble over any second.”

After falling a few times and pulling on some clothes, they both took a few experimental laps around the tent. Finally, the two decided they were stable enough to try for the mage’s sleeping quarters. Grabbing the loaf of bread they’d put aside for breakfast to use as a bribe for the always hungry Ilyana's help, they headed out.


	2. Visit with Ilyana

Ike felt his ears prick up as the brightening sky increased the activity in the camp around them. Birds singing distracted, drawing his senses towards them to the exclusion of almost everything. He could tell who was up and about and who was still sleeping just by the noises disturbing the morning air. He even picked up a young couple who weren’t ready to leave their bed quite yet. Ranulf smiled as he watched Ike’s cheeks redden, knowing what he just heard based on whose tent they’d walked past. This was the first morning in a while, he *didn’t* hear the pair. He shook his head. How did beorcs stand not being able to hear most of what is going on?

A flickering drew his attention away from Ike. The lanterns set up around the camp were moving in the light breeze. Ranulf never noticed how golden they were before. And the reds, yellows, greens, and purples of the flags and ribbons used to identify the owners of the tents… every color leapt out, a vibrant cornucopia of visual delights. If it looked like this now, in the pale early morning light, what did all of this look like in the full brightness of the sun?

The pair walked along in silence, trying to take in these new sensations without letting them overwhelm their senses. Ike sniffed the air, smelling the faint scent of a fox’s recent kill nearby. He really didn’t want to know what the meal was, even though it was making his stomach rumble. Ranulf looked over, still finding it disconcerting to look down towards his partner. But he liked the longer strides, making quick time to the mage’s tent while Ike hurried to keep up. Ike must walk slower to match my stride, he thought with a twinge of guilt at never noticing. 

Luckily, Ilyana was already up and eating breakfast when they arrived. It took several minutes to convince her they weren’t just playing some inexplicable prank but once they did, she confirmed that their theory was a strong possibility. 

“Based on what you said about the spell you saw, then I’d say you have roughly a day. By tomorrow, you should be back to normal. If not, come back and we’ll try to find a counter spell. Now, Is that bread for me?”

After giving her the bread and taking their leave, the two men walked out into the early morning sunlight. Ike swiped at his ear inattentively, lost in thought.   
“Now what are we going to do, Ranulf? We have to meet with the generals soon. How are we going to explain this? *Are* we going to explain this?”

“I think explaining this is going to be a hard sell, pretty one. We should probably just wait it out.”

Ike felt his tail once again wrapping around his wrist. He brushed it off but it returned as soon as he lowered his arm. A laguz walking by called out a greeting while giving him a strange look. 

Ranulf smirked and, after a quick glance around, flipped the tail back behind Ike.   
“You need to learn to control that or I’ll start getting quite the reputation around here, my love. We laguz don’t go around holding or petting our tails, anymore than you beorc take special notice of your limbs. That has special...connotations. And doing it in public is particularly frowned upon.”

Ike blushed and tried to concentrate on keeping the tail behind him. Unfortunately, working the muscles around his spine and butt just wasn’t something his brain was used to. The effort only made the tail whip back and forth faster. 

Ranulf put his hand on Ike’s shoulder and turned the man towards him, catching his gaze. Even with the disconcerting mismatched eyes staring back at him, he could see Ike getting upset. 

“Hey, just look at me for a second. Everything is okay. I know what we can do. We’ll have Ilyana send word to Soren that we’re...well...indisposed and we’ll just head out of camp for the day. You always tell me that the camp can run without you, right? Then that blasted tail can do anything it wants.”

Ike thought about that for a moment, absentmindedly pushing the tail off his arm again. Then a slight smile sneaked onto his lips.   
“I’m sure I’ll get an earful from Soren about slacking off but okay. If and only if you show me how to change into a cat.”

Ranulf slapped Ike on the back, just a little harder than he meant to.   
“Deal. But if you bite me, I swear I’ll make you pay for it”

Ike laughed.  
“Promises, promises...let’s get out of here before someone asks us to do something that requires coordination.”


	3. The Clearing

The small clearing was far enough away from the camp to keep anyone from stumbling on them but was close enough they could make it back for dinner. Getting out here had been a trial for the pair. Ranulf kept misjudging distances and hitting branches with his head or tripping over rocks and sticks while Ike kept jumping around, feeling like he had springs in his legs. Eventually, they settled in and walked in companionable quiet. Ike reached out for Ranulf’s hand like he had a million times before. However this time, they fumbled, trying to find that natural, perfect fit they were so familiar with. Outloud, they laughed about the ridiculousness of it but a tinge of sadness snuck into their hearts, silently reminding them that they missed the other, even though they knew he was standing right in front of them. 

“Now, it’s not a forced thing. You can’t shove your way into a cat form. Hmmmm… how to put this into words…”

Ranulf paced back and forth, watching Ike’s face tense up as he concentrated. After several minutes, Ike threw up his hands.  
“This is impossible! I’m thinking about cats. I’m thinking about my body twisting and changing. I’m focusing as hard as I can but not one tuft of fur anywhere!”

Ranulf rested his chin in his hand and thought. Finally he had an idea, gesturing for Ike to come sit next to him.  
“Let’s try this. Sit down here and close your eyes. Picture what I look like in cat form...no… don’t *concentrate* on it… just see him...the cat... slinking through the trees. Hear the leaves rustling as he walks? Picture his loping stride, his shoulders rolling as he moves along, his head shifting slightly side to side. Hear him panting softly as he moves without making a sound. Match his breathing with your own.”

Ike tried to relax and follow his lover’s voice. As his mind cleared, he pictured cat Ranulf. He chose the first time he’d seen Ranulf in the cat form outside of battle, just after they’d first become friends. Ranulf had gone hunting to get some meat for dinner. Ike’s body began to move slightly as he walked along with the large animal in his mind, mimicking its movement. Ranulf waited until Ike settled into a rhythm. 

“Now, reach out and set your hand on the cat’s head. Match his pace.”

Ike’s hand reached out, hovering in front of him as he continued to sink deeper into the picture being described. Ranulf watched him carefully, waiting for a sign that he’d hit the appropriate point.

After a few minutes, Ranulf spoke in a low, soft voice.  
“The cat is now going to stop walking. He’s ready to really stretch out. First back, front leg straight as he pushes through the hips… then forward, straightening his back legs… then he shakes, starting at his head and rolling down his body through his tail…”

Ranulf watched as Ike crouched down, eyes still closed, and pushed back into the stretch. He then came forward, holding his body up on straight front arms, back arched to get the full stretch. Then as he began to shake his head, Ranulf watched Ike’s form shimmer and shift, limbs twisting and fur sprouting. When the shake reached his back legs and the light died down, there, in front of Ranulf, was a giant lynx-like cat looking puzzled. 

Ranulf jumped up, clapping wildly and dancing around as best he could in his borrowed body.  
“You did it! Ike! You’re a cat!”

Ike raised his head to look at his partner. Why was he dancing around? Ike shook his head to try and clear it. He felt odd but couldn’t put his finger on it. It had been an odd day already after all. 

Realization set in quickly. Ike began to panic as he looked down on giant furry paws. He heard himself growl as he tried to call for help and stumbled backwards. Then, just as he was about to bolt, he felt a pair of gentle hands cup the side of his jowls and tilt his head up. There, just a few inches from his muzzle, were Ranulf’s eyes and quirky smile.  
“Hey there… shhhh... Calm yourself. It’s all good and you’re safe. I’m so sorry. I forgot how startling it could be the first time and forgot to prepare you. Just don’t lose yourself. Remember who you are.”

Ike took a deep, huffing breath and felt his hind legs fold under, dropping him into a sitting position. His tail swung forward and wrapped around his front paws. Ranulf scratched him behind one tufted ear, looking Ike over carefully. It looked like the transformation worked. He was fascinated by how the cat looked. Ranulf had never seen himself transformed before. If this was what he looked like, how on earth did he ever intimidate anyone on the battlefield? Physically, the cat looked dangerous, all claws and teeth. But with Ike running the show, there wasn’t that threatening vibe Ranulf and other cat laguzes projected, like they were moments away from attacking even when still. Ike mostly projected curiosity which put his ears and eyes in constant motion. He looked more like a giant kitten than a ferocious battle cat. 

“Go on, Ike. Explore away!”

Ike got up and tried out his second new form of the day. Soon, he was leaping around the clearing, climbing trees, chasing birds, and all around enjoying cat life. Ranulf sat on a rock off to the side and watched, amused by Ike’s enthusiasm, if a little abashed by some of his actions.  
Good thing the other laguzes weren’t around to judge. If the spell didn’t wear off, he was going to have to teach Ike how to behave in laguz public spaces. And what if Ike didn’t want him with this limited body he now had? Ranulf quickly pushed the thought away. He needed his Ike back and he was getting his Ike back, no matter what.

Ike couldn’t believe how easy it was to move. This body could twist and turn, leap and land, and everything else he could think of. He felt the potential power in all his limbs and it was exhilarating. He could cover the clearing from one end to the other in the blink of an eye. He wanted to run and run but the thought of leaving Ranulf behind gave him pause.. 

Ike stopped at the start of the path to the lake, looking back over his shoulder. Laughing, Ranulf got to his feet.  
“Want to go running, Ikey? OK, let’s go run.”

With a few false starts of trying to figure out a reasonable stride, Ranulf jogged down the path. Ike bounded in front of him, occasionally leaving the path to pounce on small noises, usually coming up empty paw-ed. Soon, they came to a nearby lake. Sprinting out of the treeline, Ike misjudged the distance and unsuccessfully tried to skid to a stop before he hit the water, tumbling end over end. He emerged from the lake, soaked and extremely unhappy. Ranulf doubled over laughing at his partner’s bedraggled appearance.  
“You have a lot to learn about cat life, my love. Like don’t leap without looking or water is not a cat’s best friend.”

Ike shook off what he could and tried to gather up the shreds of his dignity… then dropped them again as he began to groom the fur on his paws, tail, and back. Once he was suitably clean, Ike explored the shoreline, chasing small terrified frogs and flipping over turtles that Ranulf would turn back right side up once the large cat found something else to interest him. 

Finally, they headed back to the clearing at a much slower pace. Ranulf could see Ike wilting as the strain of keeping a cat form began to wear on him. He’d been in it for almost three hours. Ranulf never kept it more than an hour or two at most because it drained so much energy.

Once back, Ike slinked over and laid down at Ranulf’s feet, exhausted. Ike wished he could tell his kitten that being a laguz for a day was ridiculously tiring but only a contented purr came out when Ike tried. Ranulf sat on the ground, leaning against a tree, and let Ike lay his giant furry head on his lap. As he stroked the top of Ike’s head, the purring became more pronounced and Ike’s eyes slowly closed. As he drifted into a deep sleep and silence fell over the clearing, Ike’s body began to shimmer and shift back into his borrowed form. Soon Ranulf had a full grown laguz in his lap instead place of a cat. 

Ranulf let Ike sleep for a while as he watched the yellow sunlight filter through the greenest leaves he’d ever seen. Finally, he gently shook Ike.  
“Time to wake up, pretty beorc. The sun will be going down soon and we probably should get back.”

Ike groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes. Yawning, he leaned over out of habit and kissed Ranulf. Both pulled back the moment their lips touched, blushing furiously and more than a little confused.

After a pause, Ike finally cleared his throat.  
“That was… awkward. Why do you think…?” His last sentence trailed off.

Ranulf shrugged.  
“Why did it feel so wrong? I guess because you aren’t really you and I’m not really me. It’s like kissing a stranger, in the physical sense at least. “

Ike sighed and climbed to his feet.  
“Yep, that’s it exactly. It feels like breaking our oath. I don’t like it at all.”

He reached down to help Ranulf up as always but almost fell over due to the weight difference.  
“What are we going to do if this doesn’t wear off by tomorrow? No offense but I want my cat boy back. And to be able to focus for five seconds without a hundred sounds interfering.“

Ranulf patted Ike on top of the head.  
“Have faith, young one. If it doesn’t wear off, Ilyana will think of something. While you are currently quite a beautiful pleasure to look at, I need my handsome beorc returned to me. And I’m ready to trade in these incredibly bright colors I see to be able to hear properly again. How does all this color not give you a perpetual headache? I will miss being tall though.”

Ike wrapped his arms around Ranulf, laying his head on the other man’s chest. It didn’t feel right but he didn’t care. He needed some reassurance that they would be ok no matter what happened. Ranulf’s arms settling around his told him they would be.

They picked up their packs and started back towards camp.

“So, what was your favorite part of being a cat?”

“Oh, definitely licking myself…Oww! What?”


	4. Coming Home

As night fell, the two settled into their tent to wait out the spell. After some negotiation, they decided to sleep on whichever side of their bed the ‘body’ of the person belonged on, hoping that they’d be back in place in the morning. 

Ranulf shifted uncomfortably on Ike’s side. Sleep eluded them both. Everything just felt… wrong and out of place. Rolling on their sides, they faced each other, looking into each other’s eyes, the only piece of them that was still recognizably the other. 

Ike brushed the dark blue hair back from Ranulf’s face.  
“Tomorrow, I’m cutting my hair. You should have told me it was getting too long.”

Ranulf chuckled ruefully.  
“Well, I always liked it longer. If… well… if we don’t switch back, I’ll get it cut however you want it.”

Ike shook his head.   
“No ifs. *When* we switch back. And maybe I’ll just leave it longer, if you like it that way.”

Ranulf kissed the back of Ike’s hand.  
“I love you just as you are, long hair or short, beorc or laguz. Now, sleep. Let’s get the morning here faster.”

Ike tucked under Ranulf’s shoulder and resting his head on his lover’s chest. The two of them laid there, warm and still, until finally sleep claimed them.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Someone was shaking him gently. Ike rolled over, throwing an arm over his eyes to block out the bright sunshine.

“Ugh, why is it so light? What time is it?”

Only silence answered him. 

“Ranulf?” 

He opened his eyes to find his cat boy just a few inches from his face, staring down at him with multi-colored eyes and a huge grin, looking every inch the laguz of his dreams.

“Good morning, sleepy sunshine! Guess what?” Ranulf whispered.

“What?” came the whispered reply.

“I’m me. You’re you. And I’ve already sent word to Soren that you are most definitely going to be late today.”

“I am?”

“Most definitely. We have to make sure the transformation back is 100 percent complete.”

“Will this involve a full physical check?”

“Well, we want to be sure, you know.”

“Of course! I love you, kitty cat.”

“And I you, pretty one”


End file.
